


Running from the Past

by greenarrow12123



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Best Friends, Found Family, Future, Ghosts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:53:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26731678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greenarrow12123/pseuds/greenarrow12123
Summary: You and Luke became close friends months before he was supposed to play the Orpheum with Sunset Curve….will he meet you again?
Relationships: luke patterson/reader
Comments: 4
Kudos: 43





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> No shame I love this show okay

You had met your fair share of bands. Rock stars. Up-and-coming singers. Women who claimed they would make it big. Boys who wanted to be the next big boy band.

You helped your uncle manage the bands that played in his night club. And tonight, the club had booked a new up-and-coming band that had been making the rounds around town. But the lead singer was nowhere to be found. Your uncle sent you to hunt him down, which was why you were running around backstage breaking through door after door trying to find some wanna-be rock star teenager.

“Luke!” You yelled as you slammed yet another door open. A woman in the far back of the room glared at you as she wiped a makeup smear off a young lady’s face.

You mumbled your apologies, slowly pulling the door shut behind you, before taking off down the hall once again. As you rounded the corner, you ran headfirst into someone, both of you shrieking as you slammed to the ground in a jumble of limbs.

“Woah!” The shaggy hair boy in front of you exclaimed as he pulled away from you, stumbling ungracefully to his feet.

He offered you his hand, but you ignored him as you stood slowly.

You squinted your eyes as you looked him up and down. A smirk formed on his face as he watched you look him over. Just as he opened his mouth, probably to say something smart, you shoved a finger in his face and the smirk slipped off his face.

“Luke?”

The boy’s eyes widened and he nodded.

Without wasting another second, you grabbed him by the arm and began dragging him down the hall. The boy stumbled over his feet as you pulled him along behind you.

“Where are we going? Damn your grip is hella tight. Could you maybe let up?” He stopped as you threw him another glare, “….no? Okay.”

He managed to remain silent as you continued down the hall until you both passed by a grinning Alex, who had just stepped out of your uncle’s office. Luke reached out to him for help, but the blonde boy just held up his hands as you passed.

“Not cool, Alex!” Luke yelled. Alex’s laughter echoing behind you.

You finally made it through the door of your uncle’s office and shoved Luke right in front of your uncle’s desk.

“Oh, you found him! You can go help the stagehands set up now!”

You sighed, your head and feet throbbing from searching for rock star for the past two hours. Turning on your heel, you started out the door but skidded to a halt when Luke stepped right in front of you. 

“Wait, can I get your name?” He said, offering you a lopsided smile.

“Y/N.”

“Y/N.” He said slowly, “That’s pretty- I…wait!” He stammered as you walked right around him and out the door. 

He stuck his head out the door of your uncle’s office, “I’ll see you around!”

“No, you won’t!” You yelled back.

“Yes, I will!”

You smiled as you rounded the corner. Maybe one day you would see him again.

──────────────────────

Two months passed and you arrived at your uncle’s club earlier than normal. It was too early to set up the stage, so you wandered around aimlessly backstage. As you rounded the corner, you tripped over something, slamming hard to the ground.

“Crap sorry!” The man scrambled to his feet and helped you up, “Y/N?”

Your eyes widened as you met Luke’s green eyes, “Larry?”

He rolled his eyes and held out his hand, “Luke.”

“Nah, I like Larry better.” You shook his hand quickly before taking a step back and running a hand through your hair nervously, “You playing here again?”

The boy nodded, a grin lighting up his whole face. He looked at you as if waiting for you to say something.

You stumbled over your words, “Um - well I should….” You pointed behind you and started to slowly back away.

“Wait! Keep me company until the rest of my band gets here?” He begged, pouting his lip out.

A smile pulled at the corner of your mouth, and with the roll of your eyes you motioned for him to sit back on the ground. He did. You plopped down next to him, settling yourself up against the wall.

“So you work here?”

You shook your head, “I help my uncle, I don’t really like staying at home, so he allows me to help out around here.”

Luke’s eyes grew darker as he nodded knowingly. 

You both continued to talk and before long you were laughing as he stood in front of you, guitar in hand, trying to write a song that rhymed with your name.

“It’s not going to work.” You chuckled.

“It will. It will. Hold on I’ll get it.” He strummed the guitar again, his mouth wide open, but no words came out, “Okay, maybe not.”

“Y/N!” A voice echoed down the hall, “Your uncle needs you.”

Sighing, you stood up, brushing off your jeans. You hesitated for a second, turning to face Luke, “I’ll see you around?”

Luke smiled as you walked away and just before you rounded the corner he called out, “Hey if you ever need a place to stay that’s not here, we have a pretty comfortable couch in our studio.”

──────────────────────

A month passed and you saw Luke more than you thought you would.

You were friendly, but you tried to keep your distance. There was a reason you didn’t have many friends. And you didn’t want to drag Luke into your family drama.

When you heard footsteps around the corner, you curled in on yourself hoping whoever it was would ignore you. Your pencil continued to scratch lightly over the paper as you continued to sketch.

When the footsteps sounded closer, your shoulders stiffened as you saw Luke step up beside you.

You shot to your feet and darted away. But he followed after you, his puppy dog eyes wide as he tried to get your attention. When he lightly grabbed your arm, you turned your eyes flashing at him.

He took a step back.

You sighed, “Sorry.”

“No,” He stepped back a little more, “I’m sorry.”

You closed your eyes tightly, trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall, “It’s just…”

“You don’t have to tell me.” His voice was soft.

You sank to the ground, burying your face in your hands as you took deep breath after deep breath. A few seconds later you felt him settle beside you.

Luke began to speak, probably to apologize when you abruptly look up straight into his eyes, “I don’t have the best home life I mentioned before. It’s gotten worse and I don’t….”

He grimaced as your once bright eyes began to darken as bad memories were pulled to the surface. Your eyes glazed over as you turned to stare at the wall opposite you.

Luke was quiet for a few minutes before moving closer to you. He gently took the sketch pad that you held tightly to your chest. 

He began to speak, softly and slowly about how he ran away from home because he and his mom had a horrible fight. And he wanted to go back because he missed her and didn’t want to disappoint her, but he needed to prove to her that music was _his thing_. As he continued speaking, you began to relax in his presence. Everything he spoke of was in a way similar to what you were going through.

As the weeks passed, you both grew closer and you began to trust him more and more, telling him more about yourself and your family. He was easy to talk to and you felt safe telling him your secrets because he had secrets of his own. He listened without judgment and offered support without forcing it on you.

You didn’t know how different everything would be after this.

──────────────────────

You walked up to the garage hesitantly. Alex’s parents had explained where the studio was in the back of the house, and that you should just follow the sound of the music.

You gripped the strap of your bag tighter and raised your hand to knock on the door. But you froze. Sighing you turned. But before you could walk away, the door creaked open behind you.

“Y/N?”

You froze and turned around slowly, refusing to meet the boy’s eyes.

Luke was looking at you confused, his eyes darting to the packed duffel bag on your shoulder, to your downcast face.

“I…um.” You swallowed hard, still looking at the ground. You took a hesitant step back.

But before you could run, Luke stepped up to you, his hand raising, gently lifting your chin. Your eyes darted to the side, so they didn’t meet his.

His own eyes darkened when he saw the bruise on your cheek but knew better than to breach the topic.

“Can I stay here for a few days?” You said faintly.

Luke’s eyes roved your face, and for a moment you thought he would refuse. But then he pulled the bag from your shoulder, slinging it over his own. His other arm lifted to wrap around your shoulder as he led you into the studio.

“Boys! We have a guest!”

Alex and Reggie looked up, both smiling widely when they saw you. They ran over, about to pull you into a group hug, when Luke raised his hand causing them to skid to a halt. They both froze at the sight of your bruised face.

You cringed, waiting for the bombardment of question. But instead, they led you over to the couch and Reggie began a long rant about the new Star Wars that was supposed to come out in a few years, until you were giggling on the couch.

──────────────────────

You snuggled into the couch, wearing one of Luke’s sweaters you had “confiscated” a few months ago. It was big on you and hung down below your knees. You had the sleeves rolled numerous times yet they were still long enough to fall over your hands.

“Y/N? I need opinions on what to wear for our Orpheum performance tomorrow night and- is that my sweater?”

You didn’t bother looking up as you continued sketching a new Sunset Curve Album cover, “That it is.”

When Luke didn’t say anything, you raised your head to look at him, your brows furrowing, “Are those my slippers?”

“Yes. Can I ask why you’re wearing it?” He said softly.

You tilted your head, confused at his statement, “What?”

“The sweater. _My_ sweater. Why are you wearing it?”

You _definitely_ blame your sleepy brain for your next response, “It makes me feel safe.”

After a beat of silence and a slight quirk of Luke’s mouth, you realized what you had said. Stumbling over your words you frantically spit out, “Nope, I didn’t say that. Ignore that.”

Luke’s smile took up his whole face. He looked you up and down before his eyes widened, “Wait. Isn’t that the sweater I was looking for _months_ ago?”

“Well…”

“Y/N!” Luke exclaimed, “I asked you for weeks what happened to it! I can’t believe you had it all this time. Have you taken anything else I’ve been looking for?!”

You scoffed, lightly blushing, “What no of course not why would I ever do that….?”

 _Lies_. You always wore his clothes. His shirts to bed. His pants during cold days. His sweatshirts. You loved his shirts and sweaters the best. They smelled like him. They made you feel safe. You loved being able to cuddle up at night tucked in something that reminded you of him. You loved falling asleep surrounded by his scent. Especially if you were feeling particularly down or sad, his scent would wrap you in a cocoon of safety until you relaxed.


	2. Chapter 2

_22 years later:_

You were in Caleb’s office hiding from the club members when you felt him summon you. Sighing, you dropped your sketch pad and pencil onto your desk and popped into the club.

“You called?”

Caleb turned, his swarmy smile making your heart clench painfully.

“Please, entertain my guests for a little while.” And with that, he vanished.

You turned to face the guests Caleb had mentioned, and when you caught sight of their faces you stumbled back, slamming into the table behind you.

“Alex?” You whispered.

The blonde boy before you froze, “Y/N?”

“I….” Your eyes went wide as you caught sight of the familiar shaggy brown-hair boy behind him.

“Y/N!” Reggie yelled. He pushed past Alex and pulled you into a tight hug. Your arms wrapped around him unconsciously; however, your gaze was still focused over his shoulder locked onto the other brown-hair boy, whose eyes were now staring back at you.

“Luke! Look who it is!” Reggie said excitedly as he swung you around and pushed you not-so-gently toward Luke.

You stumbled over your feet, Luke reaching out to grab you before you fell on the ground. Your hands landed against his chest and you could feel his heart pounding rapidly. You steadied yourself and tried to take a step back, but his grip on your arms tightened as if he didn’t want to let you go.

You remained frozen in his arms for a few seconds, not truly believing that he was actually here. After a few moments, you took a deep breath and looked up, meeting his green eyes. Your heart skipped a beat.

“Luke.” You sighed. His features softened and the corner of his mouth quirked up at the sound of his name on your lips. Against your will, you stepped even closer to him.

He finally let go of your arms, his one hand falling to rest against your waist, the other raising to brush a piece of hair back from your face.

“You died, too?” His voice cracked.

You smiled sadly, “Same night you did.” Luke’s thumb brushed against your cheek and your breath caught in your throat.

Turning your head slightly away avoiding his gaze, you cleared your throat, “When- when I um…when I became a ghost I thought you would be here too. I waited for years but you never showed.”

His finger caught under your chin and he turned your gaze back to him, his brows furrowed, “How long?”

You swallowed hard, “It’s been three years.”

Luke’s mouth dropped open. And you took that as a chance to pull away, his hand remaining outstretched toward you, as you backed away from him.

You turned and starting walking toward the back of the club. Luke followed quickly behind you, stepping in your way every few seconds. You continued walking, darting in and out of ghost and lifer alike. Until Luke stepped right in front of you.

“Luke, stop. I need to leave.”

“No.” He said loudly. A few ghosts stopped to look at you. Sighing, you grabbed onto Luke’s arm and pulled him into a back corner.

“I have to go see Caleb.” You said, fiddling with your hands, throwing a quick glance to the dark-haired man across the club, whose eyes had been on the two of you for the entirety of your conversation.

“You work with him.” Luke nodded.

You shook your head, a grimace pulling at the corner of your mouth, “I work _for_ him.”

Luke’s brows furrowed as if he didn’t understand the difference. But he stepped up into your space once again, and your eyes shut involuntarily as his familiar scent soothed some part of your soul that you didn’t know was still there.

“I’m not leaving here without you.” He said definitively.

You shook your head, your gaze darting to Caleb’s dark gaze once more, his hand raising to summon you. You swallowed and offered Luke a quick smile, “I’ll come find you later, I promise.”

Luke narrowed his eyes, he always knew when you were lying. Finally, he nodded his head, “Back at our studio.”

You rolled your eyes, as you scoffed, “You’re kidding right?”

Luke offered you a wide smile, his arms flying out wide, “When have I ever kid?”

──────────────────────

Once the band left, Caleb made it clear that you and Willie were to stay away from the boys. He wanted them for himself. And if he found either of you interfering in his business, he would make you pay.

But you knew you had to meet up with them sooner or later or Luke would come searching for you. And that could end up causing more problems. For both of you.

So later that night, you snuck out of your place and popped into the old Sunset Curve studio.

You smiled when you saw the band’s instruments laid out exactly how they used to be. The name on Alex’s drummers was different though….but as you walked over to Luke’s guitar, you suddenly flashed back 22 years.

Young and happy, sitting in front of Luke, his arms wrapped around you as he tried to teach you how to play his six-string. Both you wincing when the chord you strung went sharp.

Your hand reached out to gently run down the front of the guitar when a shriek sounded behind you.

You jumped, almost knocking over the guitar, grabbing it before it crashed to the ground.

“Who are you?!” A girl a couple years younger than you pointed at you as she looked glanced cautiously around as if expecting someone else to pop out.

She could see you…

Your eyes widened and before you could think you yelled, “Luke?!”

You held on tight to the guitar in your hands as you backed slowly away from the strange girl. But instead of coming toward you, she froze and let out a deep sigh, “Those boys, I swear. Are you another ghost friend?”

“You can see me?” You whispered. It had been years since you talked to a lifer. As Caleb’s assistant, you had only ever interacted with ghosts. None of the humans in the club even knew you existed.

The girl rolled her eyes and waved her hand at you, “Yeah. Boys?!”

Luke popped in, smiling widely when he saw you standing in front of him, holding his guitar. But his smile dropped when the girl stepped up getting right in his face.

He swallowed heavily as he glanced between you and her, “Um about that…. Julie meet Y/N. Y/N meet Julie. She can see us and also we become visible when we play with her! Isn’t that rad?!”

Your head began to pound, “You do what now?”

Luke offered you a big smile, and Julie rolled her eyes before groaning and storming out of the studio.

“I….it’s not just Caleb that can make ghosts visible?”

If Julie had control over ghosts like Caleb did, that means that he wasn’t as special as he thought. His power was all a façade.

Luke shook his head as he took in your confused expression. He slowly reached out, pulling his guitar from your hands. He strummed a few chords of your favorite song, which put a wide smile on your face.

“You _remember_.”

Luke shrugged, “For me, it’s only been a few days since I’ve seen you. I’m sorry you’ve been alone for this long.”

You swallowed as you nervously walked around the studio, your hands running over the new additions to the room, the piano, the plants.

“Y/N.”

Your heart clenched, it had been so long since you had heard him say your name. It almost didn’t feel real. And you knew that you would have to leave him. You couldn’t let Caleb get close to him or Alex or Reggie.

You remember the day you arrived back on earth like it was yesterday. One second you had died and not even an hour later you were shot 22 years into the future.

You had slammed to the ground in the middle of the street, the pain in your body feeling as real as if you were still alive. You tried to speak with people walking past you but no one could hear you. You were alone. In a strange world.

And then you met Caleb.

He offered you a place to stay…if you agreed to work for him. You didn’t find out what he actually did to lifers and to ghosts until you met Willie. You knew the lengths he went to get people to pledge their immortal souls to him. But he hadn’t done it to you, because he knew you were never a flight risk. You knew you belonged to him. You had no one else.

But in the back of your mind, you had waited and waited _and waited_ – for someone, you knew you would never see again.

Until you did.

Part of you wanted to leave Caleb, now that you had found Luke, Alex, and Reggie again. But at what cost? Caleb would come after you. And you couldn’t lead him to the band. _Your family_. You couldn’t put them in danger. If you remained with Caleb maybe you would be able to keep them safe.

A hand touching yours broke you out of your thoughts. As Luke’s fingers threaded through your own, your heart beat painfully and you gripped back tightly.

Luke cleared his throat, but before he could say anything you whirled around and pulled him into a tight hug. You buried your face in his neck, your fingers gripping tightly onto his sweatshirt.

His own arms wrapped around you tightly and you could feel him tremble in your arms.

“I’m sorry for everything.” He said, his words dripping with remorse.

You pulled back slightly, “Sorry for what?”

Luke offered you a sad smile, “Dragging you into this life. This band. You would still be alive if I hadn’t –”

“Hey! This was my choice.” You reached up, grabbing his face gently, “You’re my family. I wouldn’t change anything, okay?”

Luke’s smile grew a little wider, tears his eyes.

You cleared your throat and pulled away from him, offering him a shaky smile, “So, where are the boys? It’s not just you that I miss.”

Luke scoffed, wiping a stray tear off his cheek, “Please, everyone knows I’m your favorite.”

“Hey!” A voice sounded from outside the studio.

You whirled around with a grin, “Boys!”

Reggie and Alex peeked around the corner, both smiling despite the tears in their eyes. You opened your arms and they both rushed forward pulling you into a group hug.

“Ahem.” You called out to Luke, who was watching with a soft smile on his face. Grinning broadly, he jumped over and threw his arms around all three of you.

“It’s good to be back.”

──────────────────────

A few days later, you found yourself back in the studio. Caleb hadn’t given you any assignments recently, so you had plenty of free time. And you spent the majority of it with the band. And with Julie.

It was almost exactly like old times. Alex’s snarkiness, Reggie’s laughter, and _Luke_.

An old Sunset Curve album played as you laid sprawled out on the couch, your pencil sketching fast across the paper.

“Oh, sorry!”

Your head shot up and you saw Julie freeze as she walked into the studio, “No, my bad. I can, um leave if you want?”

Julie shook her head, “No, it’s fine. I’m just so used to the boys around, it’s weird having someone else here. But I’m glad you are. Luke seems happier.”

Your eyes went wide and you could feel your face begin to burn. Turning back to your sketch, you cleared your throat, “I don’t know what you mean.”

Julie rolled her eyes as she settled down next to you on the couch, nodding to the sketch of Luke you were working on.

“I think you do.”

You slammed the sketchbook shut and shoved it into the couch cushions.

“Luke…um, when he and the boys dropped into my life all he could talk about was you.”

Your head snapped to Julie’s, and she must have seen the question in your eyes, was that the truth? She nodded.

“He yelled at Reggie when he grabbed a shirt to change into. Said it had been your favorite and he wasn’t allowed to wear it because it reminded him too much of you.” Her voice cracked slightly.

You swallowed hard, the tears welling up in your eyes. You were glad that the band had Julie, especially since you hadn’t been there for them when they arrived back on earth.

“He was…um- pretty bad the first week or so. He got a little better when we all began to play. But between losing you and visiting his parents…” Julie trailed off.

She stood suddenly, walking over to Luke’s guitar-stand. Kneeling down, she reached behind the stand and pulled out Luke’s notebook. Pulling a piece of paper from the very back, she smoothed it out before handing it to you.

“When Luke had me go through some of his songs, I found this. He wrote it a few weeks ago. I thought you should see it.”

You reached out hesitantly, your hand shaking as you grabbed the piece of paper.

Nodding, Julie stood and made her way out of the studio, “I’m really glad you’re here. The boys seem really happy.”

With that, she was gone.

You’re not sure how long you sat there. You couldn’t bring yourself to read the words on the page. But once you did, you read them again, and again, and again. And then you sat there and cried.


	3. Chapter 3

You couldn’t bring yourself to put Luke’s song back into his journal.

You had read it so many times, you had it memorized. But that didn’t stop you from unfolding it over and over _and over again_. Your eyes pouring over the scribbled words, his feelings seemingly leaping off the handwritten pages.

What you would give to hear him actually sing it…

So, you held onto it. It remained folded up in your back pocket. Your hand brushing against it every once in a while just to remind yourself that your feelings weren’t unrequited. But you knew you couldn’t tell him. He was better off without you in his life.

A few days had passed since you had last seen him. You had been running errands for Caleb left and right. A part of you wondered if the ghost knew that you had been seeing the band, but you were too afraid to ask.

You hoped you had some free time soon, you knew you had to put the song back before he noticed it was missing.

So one day about a week later, you snuck back in the studio, folding the song before tucking it back into the journal. Your heart aching when your hand reached into your pocket and you didn’t feel it there anymore.

And then you pretended that nothing had changed. That you hadn’t found a song that basically had confirmed that Luke felt the same way you did about him.

You continued to work for Caleb each morning and sneak away to the band’s studio in the evening.

And as much as you tried to forget about your feelings for Luke, there was one constant thing that wouldn’t let you forget it. And that something was Julie.

Julie had become personally invested in your love life. And though you had tried to vaguely wave her off, she hadn’t seemed to get the hint.

And it got even worse when she semi-introduced you to Flynn, the young girl who continuously tried to have one-sided conversations with you.

Both the girls were amazing and talented in their own right. But the gossip you dealt with daily from them….let’s just say you did not miss high school.

When Julie finally stopped mentioning Luke to you, you finally thought she had gotten the hint. But you were wrong.

It all started with whispers. At first, you didn’t notice. You usually spent your free time nowadays sitting around in the studio listening to the band play as you sketched new art. Not for Sunset Curve, but now for Julie and the Phantoms.

And when they were done practicing, Luke would settle beside you on the couch, pulling your sketch pad from your hands, until you paid attention to him.

One day, you and Luke were on the couch, his head resting in your lap as he tried out some new melodies on his guitar when you noticed the girls in the corner of the room.

You were laughing over Luke’s flamboyant singing when soft whispers flowed into your ear. Taking your gaze off of the braid you were pleating into Luke’s hair, you turned your head, catching sight of Julie looking at you and Luke. Your brows furrowed as she turned to whisper into Flynn’s ears. And when your eyes met hers, she froze.

You stopped running your hand through Luke’s hair abruptly. He let out a sad growl, startling you until you started back up again.

For a second, you thought you had just imagined Julie’s look, but when Luke jumped up and raced over to Alex and Reggie to try out a new song, you turned to find the two girls standing in front of you.

Julie gave you a knowing look, before saying, “I’m glad you two finally talked, you make a cute couple.”

She then pulled Flynn away with her, whispering in her ear as they left the studio.

You weren’t sure how long you stood there until you felt a gentle hand on your back. You pulled away abruptly and backed against the wall.

It took you a second, but you were able to focus your gaze on Luke, his eyes wide and his hands up in a non-threatening manner.

You could feel your face begin to burn and Luke’s brows furrowed as he took in your blushing cheeks.

“Hey. You okay?” He asked carefully.

You nodded your head quickly and fell back onto the couch, motioning for him to join you, which he did with a wide smile.

Instead of questioning what had just happened, he continued talking, “So what do you think of this riff, think it’ll fit in the song?”

You laughed, “You know I know nothing about music, I’m sure it’ll be perfect. Everything you do is amazing.”

His smile made your heart skip a beat.

──────────────────────

Luke knew how he felt. The second he had died he knew that he had made a mistake. He had never told you that he loved you. When he had returned to earth, he had been devastated that you weren’t here. You were his one big regret.

But now you were back and he wanted to make the most of it. He wasn’t going to let you go again.

But he didn’t know how.

He knew he technically didn’t _need_ to make a huge spectacle out of it, but he wanted to. He wanted it to be perfect. He had wasted so much time when you were still alive. He thought you would have forever together, that after him and the band made it big then he would finally get to tell you how he felt.

And those feelings, he hadn’t been expecting them. It had come out of nowhere. His love for you. Not there one day and a second later, you smiled and he had fallen head over heels.

You made him feel complete. You made him feel safe. He hadn’t felt truly safe in years. When he had left his parents, Alex and Reggie had become his family. But then he met you. You turned his life upside down. You made him stop hiding from his true self. You made him feel _alive_ again.

But it seemed like the universe was out to get him. After three failed attempts at confessing his feelings, he was about to give up.

──────────────────────

_Asking Out Failure #1_

Luke had successfully baked a cake in the Molina kitchen.

He might have ended up covered in flour and given Julie’s aunt another heart attack, causing the poor woman to run screaming out of the house…..and the kitchen may or may not be covered with icing, but it had worked.

Luke finished off the icing and grinned down at his work. He popped out of the kitchen, leaving the cake on the counter.

Popping into the studio, he paced back and forth waiting for you to show up. He knew you would probably say yes, he wasn’t oblivious to the glances you gave him or the special smiles that lit up your face when he looked at you, but it didn’t stop his racing heart.

Luke jumped up when you _finally_ popped into the studio, grumpy face and all. But as soon as you caught sight of him, your face lit up immeasurably.

Without a word, Luke grabbed your hand and popped you both into the room right outside the kitchen. He was all but jumping with excitement.

Wanting to surprise you, he placed you outside the door, telling you to wait. He went inside to grab the cake.

But it was gone.

He searched high and low through the kitchen. But it was nowhere to be found. All that was left on the counter was the empty plate it had been sitting on.

Hearing the door swing open behind him, Luke turned around.

“Woah, what happened in here?”

Luke’s eyes were wide as he stared at Julie, “What happened to the cake?”

“Cake?” Julie questioned, but then their question was answered when Carlos walked into the room holding an empty plate, icing covering his face.

“That was some good cake. Do you know how Dad made it? Last time he tried to bake he set fire to the cookies.”

Luke’s mouth dropped open as his gaze followed Carlos, who trudging slowly out of the kitchen, holding his full stomach, “My cake…”

You appeared in the kitchen startling both Luke and Julie, your eyes going wide when you saw the flour-covered kitchen.

“Did you seriously bring me here to help you clean up your ghost mess?” You glared lightly at Luke.

He groaned rubbing a hand down his face. Grabbing your shoulders, he steered you out of the kitchen, “I’d rather not talk about it.”

──────────────────────

_Asking Out Failure #2_

After the epic cake failure, Luke decided to set up a special movie night for you in the studio.

He spent hours cleaning the crevices and decorating the walls with lights he had found in the loft. He even bribed Julie to help him set up the projector.

It was all ready to go.

To distract himself, Luke roamed the city for a couple hours, knowing you wouldn’t show up until the early evening. When the sun began to set, Luke popped back to the Molina house, sitting outside the studio waiting for you to arrive.

A couple minutes later, you appeared. A smile on your face when you saw Luke waiting there for you. The boy jumped up, grabbing your hand, he led you into the studio.

Your brows furrowed as you took in the studio, “Luke what’s going on?”

He turned with a big smile and gestured…

To a big empty space.

“Um, am I supposed to be looking at anything in particular?” You questioned.

Luke’s head snapped around, “What?”

The studio had been cleared out, the ground wet as if something had flooded the room. Luke cursed softly under his breath and looked around. Reaching down, he picked a lone wet flower off the ground. He tucked it behind your ear and led you out of the studio with a soft sigh.

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_Asking out Failure #3_

Nothing could go wrong this time. Nothing could mess this up. All he needed was his guitar and his voice. He could do this.

Luke had convinced the boys to sing some back-vocals and record it so he could play it while he sang.

Everything was prepared. He had the song ready, the boys recording ready to play. Nothing should have gone wrong.

But of course, it did.

Long story short. His six-string snapped and he broke Julie’s phone with the boys recording on it.

And three hours later, you found Luke lying upside down on the couch, frowning sadly at his guitar.

He was on the verge of giving up. But he wouldn’t. He couldn’t.

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This had been the longest week of your life. You swore that something weird was going on with Luke. You weren’t sure what it was, but things were getting strange. You thought maybe he was going to confess he liked you, but he had written the song _weeks ago_ , so what could have changed his mind?

You just hoped things would return to normal soon. The sooner the better.

You popped into the studio earlier than normal and found Luke standing in front of the boys waving a piece of paper in their faces.

“Um, am I interrupting?”

Luke whirled around, his face bright red. Your eyebrows raised, as you took in his burning face and the smirks on Alex and Reggie’s faces.

“What?”

“Nothing!” Luke cleared his throat and hid the piece of paper behind his body. You smirked and popped behind him, grabbing the paper, and popping back in front of him before he could even blink.

“Let’s see! What do I have here?”

Luke’s face went white as you looked down at the paper. And you froze. Your smile dropped as you began to read.

_Luke’s List of Ways to Profess his Love to Y/N_

1\. Put something in Y/N’s favorite cake( _we can’t eat we’re all ghosts -Alex_ ) ( _BUT CAKE – Reggie_ )

2\. Scavenger hunt around the Molina household…. without disturbing the family?

3\. Buying Y/N’s favorite book andwritingposting a note on the inside cover

4\. Baking Y/N a pizza( _we still can’t eat -Alex_ )

5\. Decorating somewherethe studio to set up a nice dinner

6\. Singing Y/N a cheesy song that I wrote (with help from the boys singing backup)

7\. _Just tell Y/N dude_ -Alex

“Y/N…” Luke said but you couldn’t hear him over the pounding in your ears.

You slowly looked up and met his eyes. They were wide with worry. He took a hesitant step forward and you took a stumbling step back. The hurt shone in his eyes.

This was Luke. _Luke_. You shook your head and steeling yourself, you took a deep breath before popping directly in front of him. He took a startled step back but you just stepped up right to him. His hand reached up to cup your cheek, his thumb brushing gently against your lower lip. And then you pushed yourself up onto your toes and kissed him. 

The second your lips touched his, he froze. But then he came to life, his lips became soft under yours. A soft sigh tore from your mouth as he deepened the kiss, his arms coming up to wrap tightly around you. One hand snaked around your back while the other rose to weave into your hair, pulling you even closer to him.

A loud cough startled both of you and you pulled back with a shock.

Your heart stopped. What had you done? 

Luke was standing there, staring at you in wonder. When you started to move, his arms tightened around you, but you pushed away and quickly took two steps back.

“I…” Your eyes darted over the other two boys in the room, who had wide smiles on their faces.

But then you felt the familiar tug at your navel, and you stumbled back at the painful shock.

“I need to go.”

You turned quickly, and right before you popped out, you heard Luke call for you. _What had you done?_

When you popped back into Caleb’s office, you knew something was wrong. His back was toward you, but he knew you were there.

“When I told you to stay away from the boys, did you think I was joking?”

You shoved Luke’s piece of paper into your pants pocket just before Caleb turned around.

His eyes were darker than usual and you swallowed heavily.

In his hands was your sketchbook. He threw it onto the table in front of you, falling open to a sketch of Luke.

“I knew who he was before he even stepped foot into my club. I know everything.” He looked down at his hands, picking at his fingertips.

“I’m sorr-”

He held up his hand and your mouth shut against your will.

“You belong to me. Remember? You are to go to this boy. Tell him that you want nothing to do with him. That he will never see you again. And then you will come back here and forget all about him.”

Your eyes were wide, as you shook your head back and forth.

Caleb raised his hand and your hand began to tingle. You looked down, watching in horror as your hand slowly began to vanish. It continued to spread and spread.

“Alright.” You shouted.

A snap of his fingers and you grabbed onto your now visible arm.

“Just remember who you belong to.”

You nodded your head and quickly popped out of the club.


End file.
